By Ashleigh FieldsSpecial to the AFRO
Longtime lawyer and civil rights activist James Ferguson II died on July 21, leaving a gap within the lives and hearts of former shoppers, enterprise companions and the nation’s residing icons.
Ferguson, a North Carolina native, earned his stake in authorized prominence with the landmark Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Schooling case argued earlier than the Supreme Courtroom in 1970.
The Charlotte lawyer offered a case alongside Julius Chambers urging town to propel integration by way of bussing. A yr after he planted that seed for justice, the Supreme Courtroom dominated in Ferguson’s favor, ordering municipalities throughout the nation to handle racial imbalances at colleges by way of transportation and putting segregated neighborhoods from remaining a boundary for academic equality.
Nonetheless, the feat was not completed with out the 2’s endurance, regardless of the burning of their authorized workplaces and citywide protests.
Their persistence was rewarded by way of a provision permitting a 6-year-old Charlotte boy represented within the case to enroll in an built-in public faculty 17 years after the Brown v. Board of Schooling ruling.
Years later, Ferguson mirrored on the case as a mirrored image of his personal struggles with racial inequality in his hometown of Asheville.
“The whole lot about Asheville was decided, outlined, delineated by race in a technique or one other,” Ferguson informed the Authorized Protection Fund in an interview final yr. “Black individuals knew as a matter of survival that you simply didn’t make a reason for the inequality that was in all places.”
He mentioned from the time the Brown v. Board of Schooling ruling was issued in his eighth grade yr to his highschool commencement, not a single academic establishment within the space abated racial tensions.
“And it so occurred that nothing modified in Asheville,” Ferguson mentioned. “Nothing modified. Not a single faculty modified from the eighth grade till I completed highschool.”
However his deeply rooted experiences with racial injustice served as a platform for grace and unwavering dedication to create change by way of the courtroom.
Lower than a yr after the Swann case, Ferguson would go on to efficiently overturn the conviction of the Wilmington 10, a bunch of 9 Black males and one White lady who had been wrongfully convicted in 1971 in Wilmington, N.C., on arson and conspiracy costs for burning down an area grocery retailer. Former NAACP president and NNPA Chairman Ben Chavis Jr. was among the many imprisoned and served a two-year sentence behind bars on the false costs.
Ferguson went to bat for the group, incomes sentence commutations for the convicted after decade-long jail phrases and finally gained pardons from Gov. Beverly Perdue (D) in 2012.
All through his authorized success, Ferguson additionally rewrote historical past by founding the state’s first interracial regulation agency that employed Adam Stein, father of North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D).
“For so long as I can bear in mind, Fergie has been my hero. He was a steadfast champion of civil rights and spent his life preventing for the betterment of others,” the governor mentioned in an announcement after his demise. Stein added, “He was additionally extremely charismatic, charming, and type. And, to my whole household, however particularly my dad, Adam, he was a pricey good friend.”
For his work, Ferguson has been properly revered by nationwide leaders and organizations.
“His work prolonged past the courtroom—he was a mentor, a civic chief, and a voice of cause and integrity in occasions of problem and alter. His contributions have left an indelible mark on the authorized occupation, our native establishments, and the broader motion for Black liberation,” the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg mentioned in an announcement.
“We lengthen our heartfelt condolences to his household, associates, and all those that had been impacted by his management and instance. As we mourn his loss, we additionally have fun a life that embodied function, ardour, and precept.”
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles (D) hammered down on these sentiments in a comply with up assertion.
“James was a civic chief of nice conviction, preventing for fairness, justice and equal rights for all. He was an distinctive good friend and mentor, and I’ll miss him very a lot,” Lyles wrote.
“Immediately, our metropolis mourns the lack of James E. Ferguson II—a real pillar of justice, knowledge, and compassion,” mentioned Charlotte metropolis councilman Malcolm Graham in an announcement posted on social media.
“He was tireless advocate,” he added. “Mr. Ferguson formed the lives of numerous individuals right here in Charlotte and much past.”
